


3am Phone Call

by Chicken_Nugget_Songs



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-18
Updated: 2014-11-18
Packaged: 2018-02-26 02:55:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2635394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chicken_Nugget_Songs/pseuds/Chicken_Nugget_Songs





	3am Phone Call

The phone was ringing, and it was driving me crazy. Irritated, I peeled back the warm sheets and blindly reached for the phone while rubbing my eyes to clear them of sleep. I managed to grab it before the caller hung up, and pressed the answer key. I brought the device up to my ear and spoke.  
“Hello?”  
Man, I sounded tired. I glanced at the clock hanging from the wall and almost cried out. I was getting a phone call at almost three in the morning!  
“Hey.” Was the slurred response, and I checked the caller ID for the first time. I didn’t recognize the number, but the voice on the other end compelled me to answer.  
“Can you talk right now?”  
Was- was this person drunk? I had no idea how to respond, so I kept quiet, unsure of how to respond to him. The man on the other end took that as an invitation to keep going.  
“Hey man, I know you were prolly asleep or whatevs-“  
I giggled to myself at his word choice.  
“-but im alone and really wanna talk. Also, I may be a tad drunk.”  
His comment broke the silence from my end.  
“A tad drunk? You sound wasted!”  
“Holy shit, your voice is nice.”  
I froze up again, questioning this man’s alcohol intake. Yes, I was assumed as a girl half the time I met someone, but to bring it up in the middle of a conversation? He probably thinks that I’m a chick now.  
“And you’re prolly right. I’ve had a bit to drink”  
He laughed once, rather scornfully, and that, combined with his earlier comments, drew me to pay attention to his voice. Heavy, husky and slurred, he sounded like he would make the ideal make-out partner. Immediately after thinking that, I felt my face flame up. Trying to cover it up, I spoke and asked him a question.  
“Well what’d you want to talk about?”  
I decided that I should help him, if solely to listen to his now-deemed-pleasant-despite-the-drunkenness voice.  
“You actually wanna hear?”  
“Yeah sure; I haven’t had a sick day in months.”  
He laughed again, and I was pleased that it wasn’t laced with negative undertones.  
“Well my name’s Eren Yeager, and you don’t have to tell me yours.”  
“Armin.” I found myself answering.  
“Hey Armin, sorry I woke you.”  
“It’s fine. What’s been on your mind?”  
I heard his take a deep breath, and I could tell there was a lot.  
“I just got fired from work. Again, And I know that it’s my fault, and I know why it keeps happening, but I just can’t seem to control myself!”  
Not to be rude, but that made him sound like a serious murderer. I gulped and began to rethink my late night decisions for the first time. I spoke up.  
“Why are you getting fired?”  
I held my breath, anticipating his answer.  
“I guess I just have some serious anger issues, yah know? I just can’t seem to control myself.”  
He sounded so frustrated, and it was saddening to hear.  
“It’s like, I have so many fucking issues, and I can’t keep them all down! All these things that almost demand me to be mad, and I can’t keep up a steady job because of it!”  
He was raising his voice as he spoke, and I hated that, thanks to working in a library. So I began to try and calm him down, at least to the point of not yelling. I had to swallow down the urge to hush him, as I doubted he would take to that kindly, and instead, lowered my voice as I spoke, hoping that he would subconsciously do the same.  
“Tell me why you’re angry.”  
He answered without hesitation.  
“My mom’s dead and my dad’s MIA. I have no friends and I’m piss broke.”  
My attempts worked, and his tone was calmer, heavy with a new emotion. Though it did make sense, why he was filled with so much negative emotion like this.  
“Tell me about your mom.”  
If her death bothered him so much, he must miss her.  
“Why my mom?”  
“You should focus on better things that make you happy.”  
“I guess, let’s see.”  
He stopped talking and I gave him a minute to think.  
“Well she was a sweet person in general, but she was also very stern. And she made the best food. She was the only one who could even hope to keep me in line, as I’ve had anger problems for a while, and it’s harder for me to control myself now that she’s gone.”  
“She sound really awesome!”  
A lot like my mom actually, minus the keeping me in line part. I was never really an angry person.  
“She was. But then she died.”  
I flinched as his voice went cold.  
“The house collapsed on her while she was making dinner. I was just down the street, gathering wood for the stove, and my dad was out at work.”  
He sounded like he was about to cry. I stayed silent and let him do what he had to.  
“And I’m sick of everyone telling me that she’s in a better place, and that everything will be okay, because it isn’t! I know I’m being selfish, but god dammit, why can’t I be? Is it so bad to want it like it used to be, with both my parents and a house?”  
He was drunk talking now, spilling his guts without a care. His voice had risen through the duration of his monologue, but I didn’t do anything to stop it this time, because I knew that he needed to let this out, and if drunken rage was the best way, then so be it. I waited a minute to see if he would go on, but when nothing followed it, I spoke up to offer my portion.  
“I don’t want to sound rude, but I wouldn’t go as far to say that she’s in a better place. It’s more like she’s in her own happy place, one where she can watch over you, because it wouldn’t be a better place without her son there with her, although I’m sure that she wishes you a long life here before you go and see her.”  
That was what my grandpa had said to me when my parents died, years ago, and it really helped me work over their deaths. I said those things hoping that it would make him feel better, but when there was no response, I began to worry. Did I actually offend him? Just when I was debating whether or not to hang up, the other end crackled to life, and his voice spilled out.  
“You are the best drunk call I’ve ever made. But seriously, are you a psychologist or something?  
I laughed.  
“No way, I work at an average library, here to help the general public.”  
should too.”  
“Yeah, well I don’t have to get up, but goodnight Armin.”  
His tone went bitter, and I could tell he was still upset, despite his We both laughed at that.  
“Dude, librarians get the suckiest jobs though! How can you stand it?”  
I knew him snickering and then yawn. I glanced over to the clock to see that we had been talking for two hours. I had to get up in three. Almost like he had been reading my mind, he asked  
“Are you going to work tomorrow?”  
“I’m not sure. I can probably get in a few hours there. You’re not the only one who’s broke. Besides, I could probably even sleep there. It’s like the most dead-end place in town.”  
“Why do you even work there?”  
“I like to read, and the library is chock-full of books that I haven’t read yet, and if I hope to get some reading done tomorrow, I have to go to sleep. You moment of cheerfulness. But my heavy eyelids inclined me to sleep, and so I made a compromise.  
“Tell you what; why don’t you go down to the library tomorrow and I’ll see if I can find you a job there?”  
“Are you serious?”  
“Yeah, but you have to get up early!”  
“No problem, I can do it!”  
He sounded like an excited puppy, and I couldn’t help but giggle to myself.  
“I’m glad to hear how enthusiastic you are. My workplace could surely use some of that.”  
“You bet!”  
I could hear the smile in his voice, and it was uplifting.  
“Goodnight, Eren.”  
“Goodnight Armin!”  
And he hung up. I placed my phone back on my nightstand and slipped back under the covers, wondering how well the interview would go considering how hungover he’s going to be.


End file.
